Because of its age and improper storage, this set of books had been eaten by insects and was completely unrecognizable, with the contents scattered and the order reversed, making it quite difficult to repair. Fortunately, Xu Jiang had read it repeatedly under the authority of her teacher when she was young. Although she could not know the contents by heart, she was familiar with them by heart, so the repair was relatively smooth.
This was a tedious task, requiring immense patience. She brushed a thin layer of starch on the white paper, carefully separated the fragments of the book with a teaspoon, and then pieced it together bit by bit. Although this set of books was not a rare or out-of-print item, it was not worth the effort. However, the annotations on it were invaluable, and they had accompanied Xu Jiang through countless mischievous years, making it difficult for her to part with them.
She was so focused on the work in her hands that she didn't even notice someone approaching.
"This is just a collection of elementary school poems and essays that can be found everywhere. Is it worth your time and effort?" Xu Jiang was startled by the sudden voice. Fortunately, she had a steady hand and did not knock over the pages, thus avoiding an unnecessary disaster.
She looked up at the person coming and saw that it was the owner of the rice shop next door.
The rice shop owner realized that he had almost caused trouble and quickly apologized, "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I scared the young lady."
Xu Jiang smiled and said, "It's okay, it's okay. What can I do for you?"
"Business is slow, so I came out for a walk. I smelled the paste boiling, and I saw you drying books, so I wanted to come over and take a look."
Paste? Xu Jiang couldn't help but smile. It's said that one should be good at what he does. Who would pay attention to the taste of paste on ordinary days?
"Since you're here and I have nothing to do, would you like to sit down with me, boss?"
The rice shop owner was not polite and sat down on the stone bench opposite her. He glanced into the bookstore and started chatting with her.
"How's the bookshop doing these days?"
"You can see it too. There's no one around. It's very quiet. How about you? How's your rice shop business going?"
"It's the autumn harvest season now, and apart from some regular customers and outsiders without land, there's not much business. Things won't get better until winter, and it's like this every year."
The two chatted back and forth in a harmonious atmosphere, and finally the topic returned to the work in Xu Jiang's hands.
"I was just thinking, this book is so common. I saw my son reading it every day when he was in private school. Why did you take the trouble to repair it? Wouldn't it be more convenient to reprint or copy it?"
"The book is common, but the annotations are not." Xu Jiang pointed to him with a teacup. "This book has been through countless hands, and there are four or five different annotations. Each viewpoint may be similar or different, with the latter refuting the former's arguments or even supporting them. Every time I read it, it's like witnessing the debate myself. It's quite interesting."
Upon hearing this, the rice shop owner sighed, "Listen to you, even a simpleton like me finds it interesting. No wonder you went to so much trouble to repair it. It would be a shame if it were lost."
"That's right, but no matter how much it's repaired, this paper won't last much longer. Once it's repaired, I plan to have it copied and bound, then report it to the government office and put it up for sale."
"That's wonderful! I've seen so many children struggle with studying, often rushing in and out without a clear thought. The private school teachers are so rigid and unwilling to explain in detail, constantly asking them to copy and memorize. But often, after copying, they don't understand the meaning, and after memorizing, they forget it the moment they turn around. If there were annotations like this, I think it would relieve so much of the students' annoyance."
At this point, Xu Jiang suddenly remembered the poems and essays he had collected a few days ago, so he asked him to wait here for a while and went in to find them and show them to him.
"Who made this? What's so unique about it?"
"Please read it first."
The rice shop owner said in advance, "Although I can read, I am not very proficient in poetry and prose. If I read it wrong, please don't laugh at me."
Xu Jiang said, "Just read on."
The rice shop owner began to read the poems one by one. The more he read, the smoother and more surprising they became. In just half an incense stick of time, he had finished reading them without any obstruction.
"How?" Xu Jiang asked.
Even though the rice shop owner was not familiar with poetry, he wanted to imitate the scholars and clapped his hands in praise, "What a great poem!"
Xu Jiang continued to ask, "What's good about it?"
“Fortunately, it’s simple and easy to understand, yet still makes sense.”
"Is it feasible to enroll children in elementary schools to enlighten their minds?"
The rice shop owner thought for a moment and nodded, "That's feasible."
Xu Jiang smiled with satisfaction.
The rice shop owner asked curiously, "Young lady, who wrote this poem?"
"A scholar."
"What's your name?"
"I don't know."
"I don't know?" The rice shop owner's face was full of suspicion. "Are you trying to trick me, young lady? If you didn't know, how could his poem have come into your hands?"
"He gave me the poem, but forgot to introduce himself, so I don't know."
The rice shop owner said with regret, "What a foolish scholar."
Xu Jiang said, "Scholars are not foolish. How could a foolish person write such a poem?"
"That's true." The rice shop owner nodded and asked, "Just now I heard you said you wanted to compile this poem into a book, print it, and include it in elementary school?"
"That's exactly what I meant."
"Very good, very good!" The rice shop owner couldn't help but look at the young woman in front of him with new eyes. At first, he thought she was a little girl who didn't know her own limitations, but she didn't expect that she had her own ambitions. "After you put it on the shelf, please reserve two copies for me. My children at home need them urgently."
Xu Jiang was amused and laughed heartily.
The two were talking happily when they saw someone approaching from afar. Who else could it be but Du Hui? Xu Jiang immediately stood up to greet him.
The owner of the rice shop saw that there was a guest coming, so he didn't want to disturb him any further. He bowed to Du Hui from a distance, said goodbye to Xu Jiang, and strolled out into the street.
"How are you, Shopkeeper Xu?"
"Thanks to you." Xu Jiang smiled and bowed, then invited him under the tree and led him to sit down. Then she went to the house to get another pot, filled it with water and made tea.
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